Mary Dagworthy Yard James (August 7, 1810 – October 4, 1883) was an American hymnwriter.

Mary Dagworthy Yard was born in Trenton, New Jersey, to a Quaker father and Baptist mother.

She converted to Methodism as a child and began teaching Sunday school in the Methodist Episcopal church at the age of 13.

In 1834, Yard married Henry B. James; and in 1853, she helped to found a home orphans.

[4][5] James died on October 4, 1883, in New York City and is buried in her hometown of Trenton, New Jersey.